A Russian military plane was mistakenly shot down by Syria anti-aircraft fire this week, after a reported Israeli attack on Syrian regime positions.
15 people on board the plane were killed, Moscow said. The IDF acknowledged the airstrike and expressed “sorrow” for the loss of Russian life.
The Israeli report into the downing of the plane stated that Syrian anti-aircraft batteries fired dozens of barrages indiscriminately after the initial Israeli attack, and “did not bother to ensure that no Russian planes were in the air”.
According to the Israeli report, initially publicised by the Ynet news site, a coordination system between the IDF and Russian forces meant to prevent friendly fire incidents over Syria, followed the usual procedure before the strike, as it had done in more than 200 attacks over the past two years.
Today, a senior IDF official said that Israel had notified the Russians ahead of the strike on Syrian positions, and added that military coordination between the two countries continues.
Israel has carried out multiple strikes in Syria against weapons and arms convoys headed for Hezbollah since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, and intercepted Syrian mortars in a number of spillover incidents.
